She had cried, hurt, raged, struggled, tried her best, begged... and in the end, it was still this outcome.
Since that's the case, then so be it.
Outside the second floor of the Gallagher house, on the landing.
Fiona had forgotten how many years it had been since she felt the early morning sun was this brilliant.
"Rebirth!"
Facing the light, gazing at the clear blue sky, Fiona suddenly thought of this word. She couldn't help but mutter it aloud. Then, filled with inexplicable motivation, she tossed the cigarette butt from her fingers and turned back into the house.
Back inside.
Fiona strode purposefully to Debbie's door, stopped, raised her hand, and knocked heavily. "Debbie, get up. Time to go back to juvie."
After speaking, not caring whether Debbie woke up or not, Fiona walked away directly, went back to her room to grab clothes, and headed straight for the bathroom to shower.
Since everyone was out for themselves, if Debbie didn't get up, she could bear the consequences herself.
As the eldest of the six kids, Fiona had fulfilled her duty by knocking to remind her. That was enough.
The water cascaded over her body. Fiona took a shower contentedly. Once done, she left the bathroom and went straight downstairs without even glancing at Debbie's room.
First Floor Living Room.
Frank and Monica were fast asleep on the floor next to the sofa.
Lip was sleeping on the sofa. Hearing the noise, he opened his eyes and looked groggily toward the stairs.
At the first sight of Fiona, Lip immediately felt something was off. The Fiona of this moment seemed like a completely different person from last night—she was practically glowing.
The next second, Lip realized this probably wasn't a good thing. He sobered up almost completely, sat up, and took the initiative to greet her. "Fi, feeling better?"
The truth was, after last night's incident, Lip's hatred for Fiona had largely vanished... or rather, Lip had let it go, not daring to hate her anymore.
Hearing him, Fiona grinned at Lip, smiling brilliantly. "I'm great. Want breakfast?"
Less than ten hours ago, she had passed out from heartbreak, and now, she was smiling so happily...
That was obviously fcked up.
Lip frowned, very worried. "Great... are you really okay?"
Fiona didn't stop walking. "Really okay. I thought it through. Everything is fine now."
Hearing those words.
Thump.
Lip's heart jolted. His bad feeling was confirmed. He hurriedly grabbed his crutch to stand up while asking Fiona, "What did you think through?"
Fiona had already ducked into the kitchen and was grabbing food from the fridge, not even looking at Lip. "I'm going to live for myself. You guys aren't important to me anymore. Do whatever you want, I don't care."
Hearing this, Lip, who had just taken two steps, shuddered and was forced to stop.
It's over!
In this moment, that thought surged into Lip's mind immediately.
This family was really finished!
Instantly, Lip panicked.
People who take things for granted are like this. Over the years, Lip, Ian, Debbie, and even Carl all treated Fiona's sacrifices for this family as something she should do.
Now that they were losing it, only then did they know panic, only then did they know regret.
Driven by panic, Lip moved hurriedly, walking as fast as he could to the kitchen counter, looking at Fiona with tightly furrowed brows. "Fi, what do you mean you don't care anymore..."
Fiona smiled. "You're so smart, how come you can't even understand words? I don't care anymore means I don't care anymore."
"Live wherever you want, do whatever you want, it has nothing to do with me."
"Even if DCFS comes to take you away, I don't care."
"Speaking of which, I genuinely suggest you become a legal adult as soon as possible. Otherwise, if DCFS takes you away, life probably won't be easy."
"Also, let me be clear. From this moment on, if you encounter any trouble or any crisis, don't call me. Remove me from your emergency contact list."
Fiona smiled as she said all this in one breath.
"..." Lip was stunned, panicked. His mind went blank for a moment, not knowing what to say.
Fiona ignored him, letting Lip stand there dumbfounded as she busied herself with breakfast.
A good while later.
Lip took a silent deep breath and finally found his voice again, his tone incredibly complex. "Fi, you don't need to do this..."
Hearing this, Fiona didn't let Lip finish. She interrupted decisively. "You're wrong. I need to do this."
"For the past few years, I took care of you with all my heart and soul. The money I earned was all spent on this house, on you guys."
"And the result? You ungrateful things treat me like this?"
"Then don't blame me for being heartless!"
"I'm telling you, without you guys, my life will absolutely be better!"
Lip had nothing to say in return, and he was truly scared.
This Fiona was too unfamiliar, arguably even terrifying.
Fiona didn't care and continued making breakfast.
Ten minutes or so later, breakfast was ready. Fiona took out two plates, served two portions, placed one in front of Lip, and smiled. "Eat breakfast."
After speaking, Fiona sat down at the table herself and ate quietly.
Finished eating.
Fiona turned her head to look at the clock on the wall.
It was 6:45 AM. Debbie hadn't come down yet. From here to the juvenile detention center, walking plus taking the L train would take about an hour.
That meant if she delayed any longer, it would be almost impossible for Debbie to arrive before eight. She would be late.
Fiona withdrew her gaze, got up, returned to the kitchen, and turned on the faucet. While washing the plate she used, she spoke to Lip. "Debbie has to be at juvie by eight. Looks like she's going to be late. But that's not my problem. I'm going out to look for a job right now."
Lip: "?????"
Still reeling from Fiona's changes, Lip's eyes widened instantly, his eyelids twitching as he looked at her.
Fiona ignored him as usual. She briskly finished washing the plate and fork, wiped her hands, then headed straight for the living room. She grabbed her bag, pulled out a cigarette, lit one, turned back to look at Lip—who was already moving anxiously toward the stairs—and grinned. "Bye-bye, Lip."
Fiona strode out, walking briskly without looking back.
"..." Lip felt helpless, but still didn't know what to say.
---
2118 North Wallace Street.
Dexter woke up.
The next second.
[Mission Progress: 30%.]
The mission progress notification, which hadn't appeared in a long time, popped up silently.
Dexter paused for a moment, blinked, and didn't dawdle. He immediately tuned into the information fed back by Little Black (the crow).
Yes, with the Gallagher house chaos last night, he naturally had Little Black stay there to keep watch.
Before long.
Fiona's performance this morning and the words she said flooded into Dexter's mind.
Dexter was amused.
Impressive, Fiona, Dexter couldn't help but think to himself. Then he thought of the mission progress that just popped up.
30%.
What did this mean?
Did it mean that Fiona's resolve was only temporary and wouldn't last long?
Dexter thought about it silently and felt that was likely the case.
After all, Fiona treated those kids as her life; how could she really let go completely just like that?